Does it work?
From MariachiWiki
Once the antenna was placed outside it was connected to the data collecting CPU using a RG-58A (Impedance of 50 ohms) coaxial cable.
A tool called the Spectrum Lab is used to conveniently view, graph and record the incoming information from the antenna. In the following screenshots, the main "Watch Window" is shown where the events are graphed in frequency vs. time.
What to look for in the Watch Window:
- Airplanes: Radio signals reflected from aircraft usually result in an even which is fairly low in frequency and lengthy in time.
- Meteors: These events are often during specific times of the day. The best time to see them is during the first few hours of daylight. Meteors are indicated by a higher frequency than the aircraft, usually around 600Hz and are much more brief in time. Between July? and August 12th the Aquarids Meteor Shower was recorded.
- New! Lightning: A highly active thunderstorm, the frequency of activity seen in the Watch Window dramatically increased. By comparison to another summer experiment for lightning event recording, it was discovered that the antenna was capable of lightning reflected signals. Each lightning event is represented by a very thin vertical line (extremely brief in time over a range of frequencies). Another surprising observation was that the meteor events seemed to almost coincide with the lightning strikes.(Note: There is a theory behind the relationship between electrical storms and cosmic ray activity. Read about it here.
What we want to see:
- In theory, the events caused by cosmic rays should occur high in frequency and not too lengthy in time. These have yet to be observed with the current methods of signal and data acquistion.
What else can we see?
- The "other" image we have observed in the Spectrum Lab is a very brilliant wide strip of activity. It is fairly broad in time and is stretched across the entire range of frequencies. Its origin remains unknown, but the mirrored images on either side of the event can be explained. In order to enhance the signals recieved by the antenna, an iron sheet of mesh was laid beneath it. Because the holes in the mesh are much smaller than the wavelength of the incoming signal it acts as a mirror and reflects the signal back upward. Therefore, any signal which passed by the antenna toward the ground will be reflected back to the antenna. Thus, when there is interference with the same signal it will create multiple bands. As seen above.
